


hold the nail

by yesiac



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21946990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yesiac/pseuds/yesiac
Summary: They know many things, now: they know the glinting red of Lara's eyes and the wet rotting warmth of a cracked-white carcass. They know the searing smell of their own flesh burning. They know the horror of inevitable death rising to meet them on skittering limbs.They know what it is to fear, and to dread, and to live knowing exactly for whom they would give their lives.
Kudos: 4





	hold the nail

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cellartater](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cellartater/gifts).



> title taken from Spirit Cold by Tall Heights.

No matter where they go, the smell of burning permeates the town. Charred wood droops and cracks where Hammerhand Hall once stood. The water that drips from the rafters is soot-tinted and foul.

They know many things, now: they know the glinting red of Lara's eyes and the wet rotting warmth of a cracked-white carcass. They know the searing smell of their own flesh burning. They know the horror of inevitable death rising to meet them on skittering limbs.

They know what it is to fear, and to dread, and to live knowing exactly for whom they would give their lives.

But they also know:

The smoke is gone from the sky by the time the next sun rises, and it is golden and bright, and the townsfolk rise with them.

Éire's armor flashes as intense as her eyes as she takes her position in the town square. Struck, three guards fall to their knees before her; her gaze softens, and she lifts them to their feet again, hand in sunwarm hand; there's nothing of severity in the lines around her mouth but enough of sobriety to keep the others from laughing.

In the smithy, sparks arc beneath the blow of a hammer. Duskweaver's goggle-covered eyes narrow against the gleam and his fingers twist into a gesture complicated and strange. Behind him, the blacksmith gapes at the translucent overlarge hand that flits into existence and lifts a crimson-hot strip of metal from the fire.

Tealikk visits a farm, and Ma Calvert cries but won't say why. Twyll is bleeding because her skin has the calluses of a farmer and not a warrior. Tealikk presses a gentle paw to the girl's palm, wills the wounds to close: the blisters from wielding an unfamiliar weapon fade away, but their memory still stings.

A panther glares at a suspicious thicket while Silverstring drops from a tree, her conversation with the raven complete. Mirrored eyes glance at each other, then away. They have moved too close to the Unseelie's domain. Exchanging no words, the elf places a hand on Arrowroot's shoulder and they retrace their steps with deliberate intent.

In a bar, two soldiers clasp hands rough with use; in a temple, Bella cries with relief if not understanding; in a laboratory, Lyssa scoops a keen-eyed kitten in her arms, wrinkling her brow at her wife's feverish mutterings.

Later, Duskweaver may push pints into the hands of his companions, and Silverstring and Twyll may attempt stilted conversation that leads to an instruction on how to aim a proper arrow. Arrowroot may snuff at the mousefolk's fur and sidle up close to her metallic fox counterpart. Éire may smile at the guardsmen who now grip their swords with confidence and clap a hand on Duskweaver's shoulder, heavy with something more than physical weight.

They will speak softly, because nothing harsh can escape lips when this night may be the last. Every word has an undercurrent: _I will die for you, or you for me._

Silverstring may gesture, and Duskweaver may understand, and together they may play something soft and sad and follow it with something that begins a dance. Adam may extend a hand that Éire may take, and Twyll may hide a smile that Tealikk sees.

In the woods, there are monsters lurking. They can wait.


End file.
